In a virtual reality system, a user wears a head-mounted display that presents a selected virtual reality (VR) environment in front of the user's eyes. In some VR systems, a user can manipulate items in the virtual environment with handheld controllers that typically include a control member configured to rotate and/or pivot within an opening in the controller housing. Conventional controllers typically include a rigid dome-shaped element extending outwardly from the base of the control member to cover a portion of the opening to block dust, dirt, and other debris from passing through the opening and into an interior of the controller. However, traditional controllers utilizing these dome-shaped elements require an additional rigid, spherically-shaped element positioned within the controller housing over which the dome-shaped element can slide as the user rotates or pivots the control member. Such dome- and spherically-shaped elements are bulky and take up valuable space in the controller housing.
The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the claimed embodiments. Further, the drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be expanded or reduced to help improve the understanding of the embodiments. Moreover, while the disclosed technology is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail below. The intention, however, is not to limit the embodiments described. On the contrary, the embodiments are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the embodiments as defined by the appended claims.